The illustrative embodiments disclosed in the present application are useful in systems including those for providing user interfaces for business machines and more particularly are useful in systems including those for providing interchangeable co-located wireless user interfaces for mailing machines having secure indicia print systems.
There are several categories of conventional business machines in ubiquitous use today. The typical large office environment may include centralized business machine centers that often include copy machines, facsimile machines, printers, and mailing machines. These environments may include postage meters, weighing scales and mail processing machines such as inserters, folders and sorters. Additionally, business machines may be found in satellite locations such as convenience centers in various locations. Furthermore, business machines may be located in individual offices and cubicles. In a typical small home office environment, business machines are often located in a single office and may include multi-function business machines such as a combined printer/scanner/copier/facsimile unit.
Business machines are also found in other environments such as production mail facilities and copy centers. Multi-user settings often utilize business machine usage accounting systems for tracking usage of the business machines according to various criteria. The criteria could include a user identification number, a client identification number and/or a particular matter identification number. The usage accounting systems typically employ a separate accounting processor connected to the business machine having a separate user interface.
Mailing machines are commercially available from Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Conn. Mailing machines are available in a range of units having increasing functionality. A mailing machine may include a variety of modules or sub-systems for performing tasks such as singulating mailpieces from a stack, weighing a mailpiece, sealing the flap of an envelope, applying evidence of postage, printing information on the mailpiece, accounting for postage used, printing labels and stacking finished mailpieces. The mailing machine often includes a transport mechanism for feeding mailpieces through successive stages of the mailing machine. Mailing machines may include a postage meter that may account for and apply evidence of postage used for a mailpiece. A typical mailing machine will include various software modules for performing functions such as machine control, accounting and reporting functions. Certain mailing machines have multiple features and are configured so that the mailing machine may be provided with only a subset of the features enabled. Such a mailing machine would typically require that the user interface support all of the features of the machine.
Additionally, certain users may be experienced in the operation of a particular mailing machine and may not require an elaborate user interface. However, certain users may require a more elaborate user interface and the typical mailing machine provides a sufficiently elaborate user interface for use by both the experienced and novice user. Accordingly, a user interface may be more complicated than a particular user requires it to be.